As the brand-new H-1B visa costs puts the motion of Indians to the United States in the spotlight, main United States information reveal that the variety of Indians taking a trip to the United States for service, leisure and education, has actually seen a considerable drop in current months.
According to information from the United States National Travel and Tourism Office, 1,554,020 Indians went to the United States in the duration of January-August 2025, down 4.3 percent when compared to the exact same eight-month duration in 2015. These consist of people who have actually taken a trip on work, leisure and education visas, and have actually remained for a minimum of one night and not more than a year.
The drop was especially noticable in the months of June, July and August 2025, with the variety of Indian tourists getting here decreasing 8.1 percent, 5.5 percent and 14.8 percent year-on-year, respectively.
In 2024, India ranked 4th in the list of nations with the most foreign arrivals to the United States, with 2.19 million visitors, behind Canada (20.2 million), Mexico (16.9 million) and the UK (4 million). Indian visitors represented 3 percent of the 72.3 million foreign visitors in the United States.
Numerous elements
Hari Ganapathy, co-founder of Pickyourtrail, states that there are numerous aspects at play, consisting of visa cost walkings, longer processing times, and the total greater expense of travel to the United States, which have actually developed friction.
“On top of this, international unpredictabilities from tariffs to larger geopolitical stress are making visitors more mindful, adding to the 8-15 percent decrease in Indian arrivals over the June-August duration,” he included.
In July 2025, the United States federal government revealed a tariff of 25 percent on Indian imports, which was then even more increased to 50 percent in the following weeks. A diplomatic standoff took place and stress likewise increased with United States President Donald Trump’s social networks posts.
The number of visitors from other highly-tariffed countries like China and Brazil revealed different patterns. The variety of Chinese visitors from January to August 2025 reduced by 2 percent compared to the exact same duration in 2015. Brazilian visitors’ count went up by 3.6 per cent in the very same duration.
More stringent interviews
Rikant Pittie, co-founder and CEO of EaseMyTrip, stated that visa treatments have actually now ended up being more structured, with longer wait times and more stringent interviews.
Together with these functional aspects, Pitte included that significantly tourists are checking out a broader variety of locations.
“Alternative locations such as Canada, Australia, the UK, Europe, Japan and Singapore have actually ended up being more popular amongst Indian tourists, suggesting that both ease of access and expense pressures in the United States, along with growing interest in alternative locations, are forming travel choices.”
Ganapathy discusses that in the short-term, need for the United States will hold constant, with household sees, education, and aspirational journeys guaranteeing that Indians continue to check out.
“However, if greater expenses and processing hold-ups continue, we might see a more continual softening in leisure travel. If these headwinds continue, the present dip might well deepen in the coming seasons,” he included.
Released on September 24, 2025
